Do deer whistles work?

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BBIII

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Do deer whistles work? If so who makes em and where do you mount them so the don't look ghey (not that there is anything wrong with that).

 
They work too well. Deer hunters should use those things in the woods. :angry:

Only time I've hit a deer was the weekend after I put a set on my car. Deer drilled one of them, I ripped the other off and threw it into the bushes.

Haven't had a hit since.

 
According to the reports I've read on the "deer whistles," you are less likely to hit a deer if you spend that $3 on coffee and stay alert, instead of buying the deer whistles which the deer ignore completely.

Washington State University Report

 
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In a word, NO. 'Ride Metric- Roadbike' magazine did a research project answering just that question, (Aug. 05) . They tested (8) air powered ones and (4) electronic ones, all of which were the ultrasonic type. (i.e., beyond the range of human hearing). According to deer experts, deer have a hearing range close to that of humans; (despite what the makers of these products say) their conclusion: if you can't hear the warning device, neither can the deer. It was all 'snake oil'. In addition to their findings, they listed the following agencies that came to the same conclusions:

Universities of: Connecticut, Georgia, Michigan, Wisconsin at Madison

Utah State Police, The Acoustical Society Of America, CA DOT, The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, Georgia Fish & Game Dept, Texas A&M Univ., etc. well, you get the idea.

The following month they were going to test audible warning devices; I did not bother to pickup that issue.

I figured I already have an audible warning device..... under my left thumb...if that doesn't work, I can always resort to my .357 warning device. Well, that's for afterwards, I guess. Be sure to ask WC about that!

 
if that doesn't work, I can always resort to my .357 warning device. Well, that's for afterwards, I guess. Be sure to ask WC about that!
I am NOT gonna shoot Bambi :erm: I want that miserable forest rat (FR) bitch to cry all night long to warn the rest of those FR's to stay clear of the road :angry:

I don't know about WC's incident(s), but it sounds like we both have the "deer magnet" FJR models ;) A friggin FR attacked my bike on my very first ride home from the dealer @ Quincy, CA. The attack happened 169 miles into a 170 mile ride home.

 
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I rode about 50,000 miles (on 2 different bikes) with deer whistles after a friend claimed that his company's trucks reduced their deer hits by 75 percent after installing the whistles. My experience was that the deer would either run away from me, run towards me, pick their ears up and look at me, or ignore me completely. I seemed to have more reactions from dogs, they would usually chase me with the whistles.

 
Deer whistles – Air-activated or electronic devices attached to the front vehicle bumper are supposed to emit sounds deer can hear from a distance, alerting them to an approaching car or truck. Research shows deer are sensitive to low sounds (2-6 kilohertz) below the range of human hearing. Only some of the deer whistles emit sounds in this range. The researchers did not find convincing evidence that deer hear and react to vehicle-mounted whistles, especially given other traffic noise. Such whistles may give drivers a false sense of security that deer will stay away from their moving vehicles.
 
You may be able to convince me that a deer can hear them.

You will never convince me that, thus startled, they will behave in a predictable fashion (i.e., run away).

 
Oh, and @ BB and FJrChooser:

To add one more thing to my original posting--talking about audible warning devices, a few months back I was following my brother as we rode back from the Tx hill country; he had his audible warning device 'on'; you could hear it if the engine wasn't running. Awhile later we had 2 or 3 full grown deer followed by an equal number of 'babies' cross our path, seemingly oblivious to it. So much for that....But hey, no hunters shot us, so I guess I can take the antlers off the helmet now.... ;)

 
Agree with above facts re: hearing of deer is near that of humans...if we can't hear the whistles neither can the deer. But ever since I put a noisy set of off-road tires on the 4x4 cage, deer seem alerted to my approach and avoid me...no close calls in several years and I live in prime deer habitat.

Now all I need is a set of mud-n-snows for the FJR...none of the dual-sport tires are noisy enough.

 
I know this guy who is a cousin of a guy whose sister is married to this other guy...he has a tank bag on his bike and has never hit a deer...almost got a bear once...but never a deer. Hope this helps!

 
Great care must be used when installing the devices. If they are installed on the sides opposite to those directed in the instructions they actually attract deer! ;)

 
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Great care must be used when installing the devices. If they are installed on the sides opposite to those directed in the instructions they actually attract deer! ;)
They attract deer period!

Never hit a deer in my life until one week after I put them on the bike!

 
all i can say is that before i put the electronic dear whistle on i saw plenty of wildlife. dear, bear, moose, elk etc..

i just don't see them anymore unless i'm in my car.

i don't expect the whistle to work everytime with every critter. and i know these could be famous last words. so i try to get home before dusk (not always successfully) and i use my roadrunner horn when the brush on the banks is really thick and i know i'm in deer country.

all i'm saying is i wouldn't jump out of an airplain without a parachute just because it might not open.

if the whistle only works with some critters some of the time i concider the $70.00 well spent.

 
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